A limit equilibrium solution for bearing capacity of strip foundations on sand

Abstract

A limit equilibrium analysis is used in this paper to obtain the bearing capacity of a strip foundation on sand. Bearing capacity factors Nq and Nγ are determined for a practical range of friction angles, using a minimization procedure. The dilatancy angle Ψ of the sand coupled with the apparent friction angle ϕ allows the use of a modified friction angle ϕ*, which is in turn employed in the analysis. Comparisons with previous published data indicate that the proposed analysis gives adequate results. It is also shown that consideration of a dilatancy angle Ψ < ϕ leads to a bearing capacity value that is lower than that obtained for the case with Ψ = ϕ.Key words: limit equilibrium, bearing capacity, sand, dilatancy, strip footing, Nq and Nγ factors.